Matte Somber
by Ree-Dur
Summary: Matt was depressed boy, he had no dreams or ambitions, he enjoyed reading stories, but he didn't have any fantasies of being inserted into RWBY,


OC meant Original Character, of course 'original' would imply your character was, well, original, sadly that just wasn't true.

Really, the term only existed to claim ownership of a specific fictional character that you 'made.'

It's used by Artists and Writers, however if you were a professional you wouldn't call your own characters an OC, you only really use the term when creating a character to use in someone else's established fictional world.

I don't think I've ever been a fan of OCs, they just never clicked with me, that isn't to say I carried a hate for them. I just didn't like the idea of reading someone's wish fulfillment.

Self Inserts were the hardest for me to enjoy, those were the epitome of wish fulfillment.

Of course I didn't blame anyone, just last month I had another meaningless revelation, if you couldn't derive pleasure from something it was likely your fault, so calling something trash or seeing flaws was just one perspective.

If you weren't happy with something, that doesn't mean it's inherently bad, your standards were simply too high.

Why am I ranting about OCs and my opinions?

It's simple, I'm sure you already know, I'm an OC and I've found myself in Remnant, a fictional world.

It's sad, but true, the broken moon can attest to that.

It started about an hour ago, I was checking my email to get rid of useless notifications, and I came upon what I thought was spam, it was titled 'One-Way Ticket.'

Next thing I knew, I was in a dark alley illuminated by moonlight.

My first thought was that I was having a lucid dream, but I didn't feel the rushing panic that I would wake soon, my second thought was that I finally snapped and was stuck inside my own delusion.

But the sensations were too real, and if I was trapped in my subconscious it wouldn't really matter, reality was what you simply believed to be real, I had no choice but to accept my new reality.

Then I saw the moon.

It was broken, shattered, cracked, or whatever word one could use to describe the current state of a moon with 1/4 of it being turned to rubble.

There were a few stories were shattered moons I knew of, but honestly I never considered them.

The truth of the matter was that I was in the universe of RWBY.

And that brought another possibility to my situation, I was just a fictional character.

I had lost my faith in religion when I was still a child, it's a long story involving being taken advantage of by my sister, all my pets dying and my christian foster mom calling me 'God's Only Mistake.' It ends with my questioning God, and becoming an atheist who believed the world was just too hard for my fragile heart. Whatever, my point being I didn't believe in magic or the supernatural.

Of course that could just be a fabricated backstory for me, but it doesn't change my personal memories.

I've seen enough 'Isekai' stories to know my situation, but unlike those protagonists, I didn't believe this world to be real. That wasn't to say I'm rejecting this reality, just that I'm sure this is a fictional story.

Which brings us to the topic of OCs and Self inserts, since I know the story of RWBY, I have to assume I am an OC in a Fanfiction. I doubt I'm a Self Insert, simply based on that facts I don't like them and I don't have any fantasies of living in a doomed world.

So that leaves three possibilities:

One in which my mind broke, trapping me in a fantasy.

Another where a God, or someone/something of equal power, transferred me to another universe.

And lastly, one where my life is all a lie and I'm just an OC created to play the pawn of a storyteller.

I, of course, choose the last one to believe in, I've had my fair share of existential crisis' but I never really cared for 'my purpose for living' or 'the point of existing.'

If you didn't know what or who controlled your choices it didn't really matter as long as you believed you had free will.

Now that I've caught you, the readers, up to what I've been thinking of as I sat against the wall of a dirty alley in the middle of the night, I suppose it's time to get involved in the story.

Sadly, it's not like I can just stop my inner monologue, but I can at least get off my ass and hope I have an encounter with someone from the cast.

Since it was night time I had the chance to be in the first episode, or maybe the yellow trailer, or I could just be at a non-consequential time before the start of the series. Whenever I was didn't really matter, I had other things to think of.

Such as: who am I?

I had answered some of my other questions with simple observations.

What was I? A Human male, I lacked any distinguishing features found in a Faunus, as for the male part, I just checked my checklist: Adam's Apple? Check. Boobs? Nope. Penis and testicles? Check. That's all the confirmation I needed for my gender. I was just a human male dressed in dull nondescript clothing,

Where was I? Vale, or what I assumed to be Vale, I couldn't see signs of traditions, any sand or snow. So the left Vale.

When was I? Timewise? I didn't know, but it wasn't urgent I find out, unless it was and I was supposed to alter an event the author of this story didn't want to occur, but if it was then I'm sure I'll arrive just in time.

How was I? Physically? I felt fine, no discomfort or concerns about my health. Mentally? Just about the same as always, depressed.

But I didn't have an answer to who I was or am.

I couldn't remember my name, probably so I could adapt easier to a new colour coded name.

But I didn't know my Identity, or I guess now I should call it my Character.

Was I supposed to have a goal? Save or kill a character? Change or guard the plot? Make a character fall for me or act as Cupid? Become the main character or just a support? Join Ozpin or Salem? Beacon or Roman? Or was I supposed to just have fun and fuck around?

Honestly, I didn't know, none of those called out to me.

I stopped walking, my mind stuck on what I was supposed to do. Huh? Is this what it feels like to care about a purpose for existing? Surprisingly it felt the same as feeling life held no meaning so I should just die, of course I considered those thoughts meaningless.

Realizing I was a character must have led me to believe there was a purpose, a reason I existed.

I turned to my left, and stared at my reflection coming from the window glass of a closed store.

Dull black eyes met my own, my pale white face was clean, my hair was black and lacked volume, it was a typical emo hair cut, it reached my neck and my bangs nearly covered my eyes, that would be a problem if I decided to join in combat.

Like I said before, my clothes were dull and nondescript, just a black long sleeved shirt, with dark blue jeans, and a pair of dark grey laceless shoes.

I guess I should have taken in my appearance as I questioned for I was.

As an OC my appearance mattered, but even more so as a RWBY OC, my personality was colour coded.

OCs had a role to fill for their creators, they were an expression, in RWBY they're was three main types of OCs, the EdgeLord, the Wish-Fulfilment, or the Self Insert.

Wishers and Selves were separated because of the divide in the way they go about doing something, Wishers focused on fantasies, while Selfs liked a challenge, and EdgeLords just went about stuff brooding or being psychologically trouble, of course, those were just vague assumptions of someone who hadn't read a lot of OC stories.

The main reason I named those three were the colour coding:

Edgelords were dark and monotone, or had contrasting colours, this was to represent the introverted nature and the contrast was to symbolise the internal conflict.

Wishers were bright and vibrant or had multiple colours that all complement each other, compared to Edgelords they are generally a happy-go-lucky bunch that stand out above all and constantly take the spotlight.

If Selfs followed the colour scheme; they would choose a normal colour, this was to represent how ordinary they were and would later contrast how extraordinary they would become.

Or someone could just like a colour.

Regardless, my dark and dull colours would put me in the Edgelord category, but I didn't have any dark urges. So I must be the other kind of Edgelord, someone who didn't care about life.

Sadly, that isn't the case for me, I happen to have a big amount of empathy, I even get sad if a murderer is killed, I could never condemn a psychopath for something they couldn't control, I only feel pity for pedophiles.

My heart is really fragile, I can't even turn in the stray cat that bit me, they would have killed her just to check for rabies.

Unfortunately, my empathy only applies to sad things, if I see something happy, I couldn't care less.

So, I was an Edgelord but without the sharp edge, and I doubt I'll be lording over anyone. That leaves a less common Edgy OC, the background character, someone who just acts like an observer but would occasionally give vague hints at what's to come, they might even play as a puppet-master, controlling situations and people.

I continued my walk down the empty streets, the lamppost lighting up the road and sidewalk.

None of those sound like me, but the Edgelord was the closest, even with my empathy, my depression could spike, numbing my empathy long enough for me to not care about anything.

I was no closer to finding out who I was, my character was still a mystery, I'll just shelf it for now. Maybe I could focus in the story.

This story has me as a character, and from what I can tell, I'm a teenage Human male, guess I should add straight to that.

I'm a teenager probably so I could enter Beacon.

Since I'm a Human 'The White Fang' probably won't matter to me personally, and I don't feel anything Grimm-like inside me, so Salem shouldn't personally matter.

I'm probably a straight male so I could romance or seduce a female, but romance has never interest me, and intimacy sets off to many alarms in my head, so I'm probably not going to be a playboy fucking every 'waifu.'

That only leaves Beacon as a possible choice, but even if I care about other people, I'll always care about myself more, I don't have what it takes to be a hero, but I could try to be a Huntsmen.

Now that I have a Goal, it should be easier to advance the plot.

Just as I predicted; two bodies broke through a window with 'This Will Be The Day' faintly playing from a pair of headphones, just ahead of me.

I looked at the bodies, one was an unconscious goon lying on the road, and the other was a standing Ruby Rose, who was unfolding Crescent Rose, her weapon, from it's compact form to it's scythe form.

It was odd, even though I know this world is animated, my brain just can't seem to be able to comprehend it, I can't compare this world to my previous world, leaving it looking realistic but also not conflicting with my memories, I can't even compare this model to her newer one.

From my view, on the corner of the sidewalk on the left side of the road in line with the shop 'Dusk Till Dawn', I was able to see the scowl on Roman Torchwick's face as Ruby started twirling her weapon around in a display of dexterity and skill, before she struck the ground, sinking her blade into the pavement. Then she turned off her headphones.

Roman looked at his remaining goons, before impatiently telling them: 'Get Her!'

That fight went as it did in the show, which was good, it let me know this would be in the show, not the manga, it didn't rule out the events, but at least I should be familiar enough to know how to proceed.

With my Goal, I had to find a way to help Ruby so Ozpin would have talk to me. I don't have any combat experience, and I doubt I'll unlock hidden instincts. Speaking of unlock, my Aura is still locked, which makes my goal a few hundred times more difficult.

So I can't swoop in and help Ruby, I can't beat Roman, there's no way I can win, but I don't need to win, I just need Ozpin's attention.

And without my Aura locked I can't claim to have a Semblance, without a Phone-Scroll I can't call for the police.

Ruby was still in high-speed combat, but I'm sure it'll end soon, by the way, gunfire is loud.

Maybe I could play the part of a suicidal idiot who thought I could be a hero, or maybe the part of a traumatized witness? No, both would require constant acting.

"You were worth every piece of Lien. Truly, you were." Roman said disappointed.

Dam, he's going to escape, if I don't interject myself into this event I'll lose my shot.

Should I shock him? I just need to mention Cinder or Neo and I'll be involved. No, it'll put me on Cinder's radar.

This has always been a problem of mine, I'm too indecisive, I think too much.

As Roman opened fire on Ruby, I let my worries go, it'll likely backfire on me, but I stopped thinking and let my impulses decide on what I'll do.

The blast goes off, rubble went flying, Ruby jumped high above the explosion, and Roman was making his escape.

And what did I do?

Did my impulses chose to spill the tea on some information?

No, my bright idea was to tackle Roman.

I, surprisingly, was able to knock him off balance, not enough to bring him to the ground, but barely enough to make him stumble for a second.

Then he smashed his elbow into my head, although it hurt like hell and he got free, I counted myself lucky it wasn't Aura reinforced, but I was still forced to my knees. Maybe it was Aura Infused.

As I rubbed my sore head, I looked up to Roman, he was zipping up the side of the building with his cane, Melodic Cudgel.

A gust of wind and a blur of red zipped next to me, I turned to look at Ruby, my dull black eyes meeting concerned silver ones.

Although I've mostly grown used to it, I still feels weird when I meet someone who cares about me. I cut her off with a wave of my hand. "I'm fine, don't let that criminal get away." I said, and pointed to Roman hauling himself over the ledge of the roof.

After a second, of what I think was mental debate, Ruby zoomed off, she scaled the building, her goal? Stop Roman, she'll fail and be saved by Glynda.

Speaking of, in a sense, I saw a flash of purple before black overtook everything.

* * *

When my eyes opened again, I felt numb, not in the usual cold and uncaring way, no, rather it was like a dull weight had been forced on my body.

With the white lights and walls, it was clear that I was in the hospital, the view outside the window was that of a city, so I was still in Vale.

Then a Doctor came in, my experience with Doctors haven't all been good, most of the time I answer the same questions and they say the same thing.

Luckily, this time was different.

For one, I had a name, they were able to do a blood test to confirm my identity.

I was Matte Somber of the Somber Family Orphanage, a sixteen year old human boy, since I had a past in this world, it made a few things easier. I was able to explain my circumstance and with a convenient head injury, it was quite believable.

A caretaker, a young woman, around her early twenties she had forest green eyes and dirty blonde hair tied up in a messy bun and was dressed in normal clothing but with an extravagant flair, had arrived and the doctor explained my amnesia to her, I'm not going to pretend I know the different kinds.

The caretaker was a little shocked at the reveal, but she introduced herself and gave me exposition.

She was April Somber, a caretaker at The Somber Family Orphanage, an orphanage run by the Somber family who take in children who lost their parents to Grimm or Bandits.

I was apparently a child who witnessed the brutal death of my family to some Grimm before being saved by a Huntsman, after that I shut down.

The Somber Family took me in and after a while I told them my name, Matte, since I only knew my first name, they gave me their last name.

Since then I've always been a quiet child, but was a great role model to the younger orphans and some older orphans.

She got really teary eyed as she asked if it brought back any memories.

I told her the truth. It didn't feel familiar at all. Honestly, for a dark and tragic past, it seemed really happy for me.

I was saved and became part of a happy family.

When I was still a child, before I became an atheist, I would wish upon everything, I wanted to be happy, I wanted everyone to be happy. Those wish never came true, from abusive foster families to my sister committing suicide, my brother going to Juvie, my bio dad getting murdered right after he was released from jail, my bipolar bio mother, life just seem to hard to care about, but I couldn't stop caring.

It tore me down, was this life supposed to mock him?

A happy childhood, surrounded by a caring and loving family.

I didn't know when I started crying with April, when I came back to my senses, I could feel the words 'I'm Sorry.' Being muttered and repeated by my mouth.

Even when I was broken by my dream, I'm still sorry.

When I think about a person, their memories are an integral part of who they are, when those memories are lost, that person is dead. Even if they act the same, have the same mannerisms, they will never be the same person.

People are meant to adapt, they are constantly changing, to erase development, to take that away, means they won't get it back, no matter how hard to try, you can't rearrange the stars.

I may have never known The Somber Family Orphanage, but I'll always feel like a murderer who took away their child. They'll be hit harder by this than me.

I don't think I could go there, I would be subject to hopeful and heartbroken gazes, the younger ones would try to deny the truth. They would try fruitless attempts to bring something back that never existed. The older ones would be in defeated acceptance.

Hours past, an orange glow was painted in the sky by the setting sun, April had left, in tears and with a promise to visit, I felt the urge to scratch the bandages wrapped around my head, I ignored it.

"I can't go home." I grumbled, blinking away my watery eyes.

"Why is that?" A voice asked by the door, I didn't need to turn, I recognized the voice, but I was still surprised, so my head snapped to the door, causing a small headache. My eyes squeezed shut and I clenched my teeth as I held in a hiss.

"Sorry about that." Ozpin said as he took a step in the room. "I probably should have knocked, it's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Somber, you may call me Ozpin."

"H-hello." I stuttered as my jaw tried shutting on me, the rush of blood had calmed down. I had forgotten about Beacon.

"Are you comfortable sharing the reason you were mumbling to yourself? I was a counselor once, I may be able to provide assistance." Ozpin said, his tone comforting, almost enough for me to spill the whole truth. Was I really that desperate?

"I-it's no longer my home." I answered. "April, the caretaker had all these stories, stories about me, I remember none of them, I could see it in her eyes. The hope that I would remember, with each story the look in her eyes grew more desperate. But I couldn't bring myself to give her false hope, I couldn't lie to her. She was restraining herself, and it's my fault. She couldn't be true with herself because she was afraid I'll breakdown with her, again." I ranted, the words flowing. "And that was just one person, I can't do it. I can't bring myself to show a family the face of someone they lost, I can't look them in the eyes and tell them what they want to hear." Tears were flowing, my breathing became rapid and uneven, but I calmed down as a cool sensation flowed through my back.

"That was Aura." Ozpin said as he retracted his hand from my back. "Aura is the manifestation of one's Soul, it bears our burdens and shields our hearts, it can be used for many things, such as deflecting or attacking, even healing."

I was still in relief and awe, but I had enough strength to send a questioning gaze to Ozpin.

He chuckled. "I do have a reason for telling you this, it's said the Soul reflects the personality of the owner, a more literal way of manifesting of the Soul is a Semblances, a unique phenomenon tied to one person." Ozpin chuckled again at my gaze again. "Although not proven, some suspect the Soul may hold on to things forgotten by the body."

Then it clicked for me, I perked up immediately. "Really? There's a chance?" I was practically pleading for him to say yes. I didn't care if this wasn't reality, even if my mind never knew the Somber Family, this Soul, my Soul, grew up with them.

"Of course, but it's a small chance, and you'll need training in connecting with your Soul. I originally came here to apologize for letting a civilian get caught up in Huntsmen business, but when I heard of your state, I was mortified. I wanted to help, even if it's a small chance, will you please come to my School?" Ozpin asked.

Even though I wasn't paying attention to the other parts of his speech. "If there's a chance I could regain my memories, I'll do anything." I accept.

That was it, the rest was paperwork.

Even as I drifted off to drug induced sleep, the small voice in the back of mind told me it was likely to good to be true, and it's too convenient, I was likely signing up to be a pawn, maybe saving and indebting a desperate blank slate was too good to pass up, especially if he believed I was a selfless idiot who tried to play the hero.

* * *

I stayed in the hospital for another week, during that week, I reflected on how I acted.

When I had started speaking with April, I had forgotten about being an OC and Beacon.

But the day after, I realized, even if this all just a story, it doesn't make it any less real to me.

And plus having a personal goal helps establish character, and gives me an excuse to go to Beacon.

Ozpin had told me it was going to be a difficult journey, with my amnesia, I had to take extra classes.

Oh, initiation passed while I was in the hospital, I don't know the outcome, but I'm sure I didn't affect anything, so it should stay the same.

April had came back, she brought her mother with her, I hadn't met her yet, but Ozpin had told me he would meet her.

Apricot Somber was the name of the lady pushing forty years old, she looked like a more mature and composed April. She had spoken with Ozpin, he had told her my reasoning for going to Beacon. As I expected, she told me it wasn't necessary, that she would always love me, even if I didn't know who she was, it was okay.

But I could see it, she was lying to herself, she would be torn up inside, I apologized to her.

Her mask broke, I saw the grim realization on her face, but there was also hope.

She signed the paperwork.

As I sat in a Bullhead, I looked through the bag Apricot and April gave me, they said it was filled with me favourite belongings.

There were a few pairs of the same outfit I wore, two books, and my Scroll.

The titles of the books were 'The Truth.' And 'Origin.'

The Truth was a young adult novel, it was about a boy who was raised without ever being told of Aura and Dust or even the Faunus and Grimm, then he gets lost in the wild.

Origin was a fantasy story depicting the fall of a utopian world as Grimm invaded.

They don't seem that interesting at first glance, but there was probably a reason they were my favorite.

The Scroll didn't have a lock, and was pretty empty. There weren't any apps or photos, my only contact was the Somber Family. My messages were empty, it seems I deleted them, the last message was 'When will you be back?' From the Sombers.

I deleted it.

The Bullhead jolted slightly, I looked out the window and saw Beacon.

When we landed, I stepped out carrying my bag, I met Glynda Goodwitch.

She looked both stern and gentle, after exchanging greetings she brought me to Ozpin.

Ozpin explained what I would be doing, I lacked the combat training needed to be a student and was way behind the required knowledge. So I would be an honorary student, which was almost the same, but I didn't attend Combat classes and would have almost twice as many classes, except on Mondays and Thursdays, on those days I would train with my Aura for half the school day.

After getting my schedule, I was shown my room.

"This Wing is for first years." Glynda explained.

I was probably next to teams RWBY and JNPR.

I yawned as I walked into my room, Glynda told me to get some sleep, and that's what I felt like doing.

As I flopped onto my new bed, my eyes scanned the room.

It was small, the bed was sideways and under a window, on the right side of the room was the door to the bathroom and an empty closet, on the left side was a desk and an empty bookshelf. The window was clean and uncovered, it allowed in the moonlight that chased away the darkness.

My eyelids grew heavy, the cool night seemed to sap away my strength, my breathing evened out and my mind slowed down.

And I stayed like that for an hour.

"Dam." Even in another world my insomnia followed, back at the hospital I had requested drugs while I stayed there, but not when I left.

I pulled out my Scroll, I started fiddling with the settings, and familiarizing myself with the terms.

I went on the internet, briefly thought of calling it the RemNet before deciding against it.

I looked up the names of government officials, read the news, then I decided to download a game, they had similar games to ours, I chose that fighting Game Qrow was playing with Ruby and Yang. I finished the tutorial before I exited the game.

Then a thought struck me, music.

More specifically music by Jeff Williams.

This world had This Will Be The Day, I Burn, and some others. It's clearly wrong to have personal songs exist in a series, but if the world doesn't see anything wrong with it, then I don't care.

I listened to the playlist of songs, since I didn't have earbuds or headphones I had to raise the volume to fully enjoy it.

While the songs looped, I made plans, I was going to wing it, there should be a few months before plot happened. By that I mean with team RWBY, Jaune's arc should happen in a few weeks.

I can't say I know when exactly, actually my knowledge of the first volume is a little fuzzy, it's been so long since I watched it.

It's Initiation, First Day, a short skip to Jaundice then big skip to Blake's Reveal, that's all for Volume one.

What part do I play?

My only Goal is to get my memories, but what about my story? How will I affect RWBY?

I'll answer that tomorrow, if I don't know then I'll just go with the flow.

* * *

I never know when I fall asleep, I can't think of the last thing I thought of, I'm sure that's pretty normal.

The time was 5:00 a.m. when I awoke, I always feel tired so I never know when I get enough sleep.

I turned off the music and pulled up my schedule to see what I had, today was Sunday, normally students didn't have classes today but I had a lot of catching up to do.

First I had to meet with Glynda, she would unlock my Aura and be teaching me the basics. But that was at 7:00, until then I'll go get breakfast. They served from 5:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., all week.

I got out of bed and plugged in my Scroll to charge, ignoring the question as to how that works.

I checked the closet and found my uniform, again ignoring the questions I had.

I hung the rest of my clothes and took a shower, after drying off I pushed my hair out my face and then brushed my teeth with a new toothbrush.

After getting dressed I took my appearance, my emo hair was looked under control but I'll still get it trimmed later.

My eyes were still dull and, now that I was out of the hospital, bags had reappeared under my eyes, speaking of my eyes, they don't look super unnatural, my brain still can't compare this world to my old one. I know real life black eyes are possible, but most of the time it's just a very dark brown.

My uniform fit me perfectly, over all I looked like a student, I've never cared for my appearance much, I just don't like to stand out.

When I got out of the bathroom it was 5:24, I checked my desk, and found school supplies, in one drawer was a bag. It looked like a leather satchel, though more along the lines of a Japanese school bag. I packed it with my books, a blank journal, a pen and a pencil.

I unplugged my Scroll, placed it in my pants pocket, and left my room.

As I walked down the hall, the first door I passed on the right opened, not far enough for a person to fit through, but enough to fit their head through. And a head did come out.

Blake Belladonna, secret Faunus and ex-White Fang, glared at me, her tired amber eyes met my own tired black eyes. Our gazes locked, her's filled with hate and mine as dull as always.

Blake seemed like she wanted to say something but held herself back.

What could it be? Why did she hate me? And why wouldn't she say something? As I wondered, her bow twitched.

Oh, I think I know.

"Sorry." I told her flatly. "I didn't know the walls were thin. Won't happen again." And with that, I excused myself. My guess was that her Faunus hearing picked up on the music I was blasting all night, I probably disturbed her sleep.

I didn't bother to stay and gauge her reaction, and I wasn't interested in getting involved with Blake by exposing her secret.

After I got a few feet away, I heard the door close.

I got a few more feet before I had a realization, I didn't know where the dining hall was.

It would be pretty pointless to give up, so I just wandered the grounds, hoping to find and ask someone if they could help me.

I had wondered for about twenty minutes, it was 5:47 now, and I'm pretty sure I was lost.

I let out a sigh, I didn't like walking, I never have enough energy to be constantly active.

I had seen no one as I walked, and all the halls and paths looked the same. I was close to giving up and taking a nap on the grass.

"Hey." Until a voice called out from behind me. I turned my head to look at the owner of the voice, Blake.

"Hello." I greeted her, my voice still tired and flat, she looked better, she was dressed in the Beacon uniform and it looked like she cleaned up. "How may I help you?" Was just a nice way of asking 'What do you need?', but for some reason people found that antagonizing.

"I saw you walk down this path a few times already, so I was wondering if you needed help." I can't read minds, but I know that wasn't the real reason she was talking to me, not an introvert like Blake.

"If you could point me to the dining hall, that'll be neat." I told her, no reason not to go with the flow.

"Better yet, I'll show you." With that Blake started walking, motioning me to follow her.

"Thanks..." I trailed off, implying I didn't know her name.

"Blake, Blake Belladonna, and who are you?" That was definitely a question she wanted to ask, I could feel her eyes watching me. The hate was gone, but I could feel the suspicion.

"I'm Matte Somber, just call me Matt, they sound the same. I got here yesterday and haven't had the chance to familiarize myself with the campus." I explained, normally I wouldn't have bothered, but information like that makes it easier to answer questions.

"Oh, just yesterday, were you not here for initiation?" Blake asked 'innocently.'

"No, I wasn't, I'm not a real student." When I said this, Blake tensed. "Ozpin is just helping me, I got into an accident and he feels responsible." Blake relaxed, her suspicions mostly gone, replaced with curiosity.

"Accident? How would being a student of Beacon help with that." Blake asked.

"He believes there's a chance of getting my memories back if I can connect with my Soul." I answered.

Blake turned to look at me, her eyes asking her questions for her mouth.

"I lost my memories a week ago, Ozpin came to visit me so he could apologize, but instead he asked me if wanted to try and get them back."

"Oh, wow." Blake said, and I recognized the look in her eyes. It was the look of interest. Interest in a story. I had similar thoughts during group therapy, when someone shares something personal, and it entrances you enough to wish it was a story you can read and savour. Of course Blake would like a story of a mental journey to uncovering who you are and were.

"When I gained consciousness for the first time I could recall, confusion followed.

Questions were asked and most were left unanswered.

I recognized my surroundings, the fluorescent lighting, the polished floor, I was covered in a pale blue blanket laying on a somewhat lumpy mattress. All these things were located in a hospital room, but I had no idea how I knew that.

I felt the numbness subside, and a throbbing headache take its place as the sensation my whole being focused on.

But why was my head in such pain? Why was I in a hospital room?

I tried to remember what happened before waking up, but no recollections came forth.

I spoke with a Doctor, she had told me my name and gave me my diagnosis.

Retrograde amnesia." I paused my storytelling to let out a yawn. "Then a caretaker came and cried as she told me my past.

Her family ran an orphanage, they had taken me in when I lost my family, supposedly we came to see each other as a family

I felt bad about not losing my memories so when Ozpin offered I took the chance." I finished, and just like the rest of my work it lost a lot of steam in the second half. Whatever, Blake seemed to enjoy it.

"Do you enjoy storytelling, Matt?" Blake asked.

"Not really, I'm more of a bibliophile, although when thinking of hobbies or activities I'd rather read a good book, so maybe I was a bookworm." I answered, making sure to only use my thoughts from this life. "Do you enjoy reading, Blake?"

It's been a few minutes since we started walking.

"I do, it's nice to read a story and imagine a world of fairy tales and happy endings, it's also pleasant to read an intriguing story about the psyche." Blake answered, then she stopped walking and directed my attention to a door. "We've arrived, do you think you need more help, or is this it?"

I will need help finding Glynda. "I got it, again thanks, feel free to join me." I doubt she'll stay, but it's better to announce your thoughts then letting someone else assume.

"Thank you, but I have other matters to attend to." Blake said.

"Well, if you ever want to discuss books I'm just next door, farewell for now." And with that I walked through the doors and into the dining hall.

I finished my breakfast at around 6:30ish, then I asked, what I assumed to be a second or third year student if they could help me find the Garden.

I arrived at the Garden with a few minutes to spare, Glynda was already there.

"Hello, Professor Goodwitch."

"Are you ready to start, Mr. Somber?" Glynda asked.

"Yes, ma'am." I answered.

I was told to take a seat and relax, to clear my mind and just let my worries go, to pay attention to my surroundings, from the swaying plants to the colours of the world.

Glynda walked behind me and put her hand on my back, the cool sensation from before came, and it brought a sense of warmth with it.

Then Glynda unlocked my Aura.

My body was filled with the cool warmth, it surrounded me, and I felt the same warmth coming from the world around me. It felt amazing.

I was faintly shimmering black.

Glynda explained what Aura was, and who/what was capable of producing it.

After practicing controlling it, and mediating with it, I was a little more than tired.

Glynda explained how Aura was connected to the emotions and mental state of the user.

I didn't have a lot, but I had decent control over what I did have, for a beginner that is.


End file.
